HOMOSEXUAL pornographic magazines found in a private members’ lounge at Aberdeen City Council were yesterday confiscated by chief executive Sue Bruce as she reminded councillors of the need to salvage the council’s bruised reputation.

The Gay Times magazines were discovered in an off-duty relaxation area in St Nicholas House – just days after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was forced to apologise for claiming expenses for two pornographic films watched by her husband. In a confidential e-mail sent to all elected members yesterday, Mrs Bruce said: “I have received complaints about top-shelf magazines being left on display in the members' lounge. “I have taken the liberty of removing these and they are available in my office to be collected should the owner wish to do so.

On Friday at my wife's leaving party one of her ex-colleagues told us that he was so incensed by the actions of the new CEO and the subsequent newspaper article that he had written a letter to the P and J about the matter. Yesterday he mailed us the letter, here it is:

Dear Sir

I was disappointed to read your article titled 'Gay porn magazines seized in council HQ'.

When I read - "HOMOSEXUAL pornographic magazines found in a private members’ lounge at Aberdeen City Council" (P&J 01/04), I wondered if this was a bizarre April fools joke. Gay Times is well known as an entertaining lifestyle and cultural magazine with a long track record in intelligent journalism and political campaigning against bigotry. I was depressed when it dawned on me that this was no joke and that the Press & Journal were indeed suggesting that Gay Times was not an appropriate journal to be seen on Council premises, lest unsuspecting and feint-hearted councillors should stumble across it in the Members Lounge and choke on their tea.

It begs the question, what journals are fit for Aberdeen City Council premises? All the tabloids are clearly out, as are most (if not all) women's and men's magazines. I dare say Sue Bruce (who clearly has nothing better to do than huff & puff about a couple of mags) is drawing up a list of acceptable magazines - Saga, Country Life, The Lady, you know, the sort of thing that reflects the dynamic and relevant team of public servants Aberdeen is blessed with.

On a serious note, it is sad that the 10th anniversery of the Admiral Duncan bombing, is marked in Aberdeen by Sue Bruce's Headmistressy pronouncement - “I have taken the liberty of removing these (Gay Times Mag) and they are available in my office to be collected should the owner wish to do so". Even more depressing than the P&J's hysterical headlines, are the responses from councillors sucking up to their leader like teachers pets. It's "another damaging blow to our reputation" (what one would that be?), the council “is not the place for things like that”. Poor Willie Young fears some kind of conspiracy is at work - “It's disappointing to find that whoever it is behind it has put that kind of magazine into the council offices to try to offend.”

Willie also says “I don't think people are interested in councillors' sexuality, but they are interested in their politics". He's right there. Gay-Timesgate reflects all that's rotten in Aberdeen City Council. Stupid people, making stupid decisions about all the wrong things. Beyond party-political allegiance, these are empty vessels rattling about with misplaced notions of what the public find decent in the 21st century. Confusion reigns, even an openly gay counsellor thinks the "casual observer" should be spared the knowledge that gay people have sex. I suppose if mutual respect and tolerance is out of the question at Aberdeen City Council, old-fashioned bigotry will do.

Alice Squire and Pete Richmond

Peter is a social care commissioner at Aberdeen City Council and I have a feeling his boss, won't be pleased. Sue Bruce is the new CEO who, incidentally, didn't bother to meet with or talk to my wife, a senior manager in Aberdeen, on a single occasion between the time she took over as CEO and last week, when my wife retired. I knew then that she would be a useless CEO and this latest fiasco merely confirms me in that belief. Aberdeen, it seems, once more, gets the leadership it deserves.

Perhaps they can get this shitbag to take prayers at the next council meeting.